Exam 8: Concepts of Criminal Procedure

Valid waivers occur when people knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily give up their constitutional rights.

Traffic court judges sometimes minimize the time it takes to adjudicate cases. They ask if the defendants would be willing to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced fine, the minimum court costs, and perhaps even the reduction or dismissal of driving points. This is an example of:

At a preliminary hearing, similar to a grand jury, if a judge finds probable cause, the case proceeds; if not, the process stops and there is no trial.

Talk About: -Confrontation Clause

This originated in the courts of England as a means of curbing the authority of the king.

Talk About: -Privilege against self-incrimination

John Thibaut and Laurens Walker argued that the outcome of cases (who "wins" and who "loses") was not as important to the participants' satisfaction as were their perceptions regarding whether the processes were fair.

Which type of charging document is issued by a grand jury?

Take as an example, someone lies down across the state border between Iowa and Nebraska so that he is simultaneously in both states. If he were shot to death at that moment, could both Iowa and Nebraska place the shooter on trial for murder?

The Bill of Attainder is an important form of procedural justice because it provides the mechanism to challenge unlawful incarcerations.

Talk About: -Fundamental Fairness

Talk About: -Probable cause

When considering procedural justice, generally, accuracy is not a very important concern.

Police have to inform suspects of their rights before starting to interrogate someone who is in custody, in order to insure that suspects know of the privilege against self-incrimination. Where does this stem from?

Talk About: -Exclusionary rule

Talk About: -Bill of Rights

Do most scholars think that following only the four criteria of Tyler and Maiese is enough to create legitimacy in law?

Rawls points out that, in the U.S., legal doctrines often interfere with the accuracy in fact-finding required of perfect procedural justice. This means the U.S. does not have:

A guilty person may go free because of the application of the exclusionary rule.

The right to trial-by-jury only exists when a defendant is facing jail time of six months or more.